The FCC has announced that Auction 98, featuring 131 commercial FM permits, is now scheduled to begin July 23, 2015. The FCC issued its standard procedures for the auction, and re-issued the permit list with no changes from the earlier version.

For anyone that wants to participate, a decision will have to be made soon. That’s because those who want to bid in the auction must file a short-form application during a window between May 18-28, 2015. The short-form application window will open at 12 noon ET on May 18th, and close at 6 p.m. ET on May 28th. If you don’t file in the window, you will not be allowed to participate.

As it normally does, during the short-form application window, the FCC has announced a freeze on the filing of ALL commercial and non-commercial FM minor modification applications. So if you’ve been thinking about filing one, you may want to file that application before the freeze goes into effect.